The Future of Consumerist

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Some people don’t know when to leave bad enough alone. Earlier this month, we brought you the story of a freelance writer who not only found out that a small cooking magazine had lifted her entire story without permission or payment, but then insulted the author saying she should have paid them for the tiny bit of editing they did on her text before printing it. Now the editor at the magazine says it’s likely curtains for the publication — and you’ll never guess who she’s blaming.

In a poorly written, typo-filled rant on the homepage of the magazine’s site [NOTE: As of now, this URL is redirecting to Intuit], the editor writes:

Its [sic] sad really. The problem is that I have been so overworked and stretched that when this woman… contacted me, I was on deadline and traveling at the rate of 200 mile [sic] a day for that week (over 900 in total for that week), which I actually told her, along with a few other “nice” things, which she hasnt written about.

I was stupid to even answer her that night, her email to me was antagonistic and just plain rude and I was exhausted. But I got suckered in and responded. She doesnt [sic] say that she was rude, she doesnt [sic] say that I agreed (and did) to pay her. It was my plan to contact her after deadline and have a good discussion about it….

The complicating issue was that one of the businesses we worked with had closed without notice, just a sign on the door — leaving several people, including a chef who had relocated to this area from Florida — out of work. I do not offer this as an excuse, but that, when she wanted money for Columbia University, it seemed ironic because there were all these people in this small town going into the holidays with no jobs, and no, well, nothing.

I should add that this email exchange took place the day before she wrote her article for the world. After she (likely) received my email, she called the home office phone at 10PM, I didnt [sic] answer that late, was in bed as I was traveling again the next day (left at 7AM the next morning) to Connecticut, and didnt [sic] get back to her. This is not an uncommon practice with anyone, to not respond to a phone call for a day or two, it happens to me from other businesses, all the time. I came home that day from being in Connecticut to find hundreds of phone messages and emails telling me I sucked and was a dirtbag… and much MUCH worse.

I really wish she had given me a chance to respond to her before blasting me. She really never gave me a chance…

If my apology to Monica seemed shallow it was because I was angry about the harm she has inflicted on others on behalf of her own agenda.

Yes, her horrible agenda of being credited and paid for work she’d done that this magazine was making money from. What a horrid person this Monica must be.

The editor offers the following as an explanation of how this whole mess happened:

But one night when working yet another 12 hour day late into the night, I was short one article… Instead of picking up one of the multitude of books sent to me and typing it, I got lazy and went to the www and “found” something. Bleary-eyed I didnt notice it was copy written and reordered some of it. I did keep the author’s name on it rather than outright “stealing” it, and it was my intention to contact the author, but I simply forgot, between proofreading, deliveries, exhaustion.

That’s right, she “simply forgot.” That and a bag of peanuts will get you, well… a bag of peanuts.

Moving on, the editor of the probably defunct magazine does — more than a little late — offer an apology to the author who outed her to the world:

Monica I am so sorry for any harm I caused you. I never ment [sic] to hurt anyone, and I think I did a nice job for you, but the fact remains that I took this without asking you and that was so very wrong. Please find it in you heart to forgive me.

While it is a shame that yet another magazine appears to be biting the dust, we’re finding it a bit difficult to shed too big of a tear over this particular demise.